$\"What$ \n

Nearly half of Veterans (49%) feel homeownership is currently out of reach, according to a recent survey from NewDay USA<\/em>.<\/p>\n

But many are closer than they think. And you might be, too.<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re a Veteran, you probably know the Veterans Affairs (VA) home loan benefit exists \u2013 it\u2019s been around for over 80 years. What you might not know is what it actually covers. Three misconceptions trip up Veterans the most (see graph below)<\/em>:<\/p>\n

$\"a$ Any one of those beliefs could be holding you back. Let\u2019s walk through all three, so you have the information you really need.<\/p>\n

You May Not Have To Put Any Money Down<\/strong><\/h4>\n
The potential to put zero money down is probably the biggest perk of a VA loan, but most homebuyers don\u2019t even realize that\u2019s an option. According to the NewDay USA<\/em> survey, many respondents guessed they\u2019d need to save somewhere between $10,000 and $19,900 before they could buy. That\u2019s years of saving for an upfront cost that isn\u2019t always required.<\/p>\n
You May Have Lower Closing Costs<\/strong><\/h4>\n
According to the Department of Veterans Affairs<\/em><\/a>, with VA loans, there can be limits on the types of closing costs buyers have to pay. That means more money stays in your pocket on closing day \u2013 and you have less to save up for before you can buy. The benefit combined with the down payment perk can speed up your buying timeline.<\/p>\n
Your Monthly PMI Costs Could Be $0<\/strong><\/h4>\n
Unlike many other loan options, VA loans typically don\u2019t require private mortgage insurance (PMI), even with low or no money down. If you take out a conventional loan instead, you could pay $100 to $300 a month in PMI until you hit 20% equity, according to NewDay USA<\/em>. Over time, that\u2019s a difference of thousands of dollars.<\/p>\n
Your BAH & BAS May Help You Qualify for More<\/strong><\/h4>\n
If you\u2019re on active duty or if you\u2019re a qualifying reservist, your Basic Allowance for Housing (BAH) and Basic Allowance for Subsistence (BAS) may count toward income qualification on a VA loan. So, if you were running the numbers without factoring your BAH or BAS in, you could qualify for more than you thought. Both BAH and BAS are non-taxable, so they can help raise the amount you can qualify for.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Bottom Line<\/h3>\n
VA home loans can put homeownership within reach, and a trusted lender can help make sure you understand the details before you move forward.<\/p>\n
If you\u2019re active duty, you\u2019ve served, or know someone who has, connect with a trusted lender who can walk you through whether you\u2019d qualify and what the VA benefit offers. You may be able to buy a home sooner than you thought. <\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n<\/body>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Nearly half of Veterans (49%) feel homeownership is currently out of reach, according to a recent survey from NewDay USA. But many are closer than they think. And you might be, too. If you\u2019re a Veteran, you probably know the Veterans Affairs (VA) home loan benefit exists \u2013 it\u2019s been around for over 80 years. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6428,"comment_status":"registered_only","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[12],"tags":[29,27,20,18,28],"class_list":["post-6427","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-real-estate-insight","tag-idaho-real-estate","tag-north-idaho-homes","tag-rain-silverhawk","tag-real-estate","tag-sandpoint-idaho"],"aioseo_notices":[],"acf":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sandpointrealtyidaho.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Header-Image-20211111-Blog-original.png?fit=750%2C410&ssl=1","jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pdz2Zu-1FF","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sandpointrealtyidaho.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6427","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sandpointrealtyidaho.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sandpointrealtyidaho.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sandpointrealtyidaho.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sandpointrealtyidaho.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6427"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sandpointrealtyidaho.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6427\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sandpointrealtyidaho.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6428"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sandpointrealtyidaho.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6427"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sandpointrealtyidaho.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6427"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sandpointrealtyidaho.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6427"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}